As technology improves, consumers have begun to use computing devices during the conducting of payment transactions on a more frequent basis. Traditionally, computing devices have been used to convey payment details to a merchant as part of a payment transaction directly, by having the consumer input their transaction account number and other data, which gets electronically transmitted to the merchant point of sale system. In some instances, the merchant point of sale system may be responsible for generating any cryptograms and other data necessary for use in the processing of the payment details during the payment transaction process. In other instances, the consumer's computing device may be configured, such as via an electronic wallet application program, to generate cryptograms and other data that is conveyed to the merchant point of sale system along with the transaction account number and other necessary information.
However, payment information stored locally in a consumer computing device may be vulnerable to theft or may otherwise be compromised by a nefarious party. For example, the computing device may be hacked into and the payment information copied or stolen, or the computing device itself may be stolen, which may result in fraudulent transactions being conducted using the consumer's payment information. As a result, many consumers may be uncomfortable with electronic payment transactions using computing devices where the payment information is transmitted from the computing device at the time of the transaction.
In an effort to encourage consumer participation in the use of computing devices in electronic payment transactions, referred to herein as “remote” payment transactions or “e-commerce” payment transactions, some merchants utilize systems whereby consumer payment information is retained for future use. In such systems, a consumer can identify themselves using their computing device, such as via username and password authentication, and may indicate to the merchant to utilize payment information that was previously provided. The merchant can then initiate the transaction using the stored information, negating the need for the consumer to electronically transmit the information from their computing device, which may reduce the likelihood of the information being compromised.
However, merchant systems themselves may also be vulnerable to hacking and other nefarious activity whereby the consumer's payment information may be compromised. As such, many consumers may be uncomfortable having a merchant retain their payment information. Thus, there is a need for a technical solution whereby payment information may be retained and necessary cryptograms generated for a payment transaction that utilizes a secure computing environment outside of consumer and merchant systems such that the payment information is stored securely and still easily accessible for a consumer to use in a payment transaction.